What do you think? Could the prequels be remade cooler with Joaquin Phoenix as Anakin Skywalker? He even looks kind of like Darth at the end of the originals.

I can just picture this great Jedi Knight falling from grace. Not a cocky little upstart like what's-his-face. He is seduced by his love for Padme; he has to rescue her from the Emperor's clutches by killing his Master, Obi-Wan. He fails.

The Emperor takes his remains and hooks them up to all kinds of electrodes in the form of his suit, enslaving Anakin Skywalker and unleashing him upon the Jedi in the form of Darth Vader. The first thing the suited Anakin says is not "Nooo!" It is, "What is thy bidding, my Master?"

I'm pretty certain that these types of threads aren't allowed in the PT but if that isn't the case then yeah....there's no question that Joaquin Phoenix is a stronger actor than Hayden. Then again I hardly think that the choice of actors was what made the Prequel Trilogy the way it is. Hayden did his best with what he had. It's not his fault the script was less than spectacular.

What do you think? Could the prequels be remade cooler with Joaquin Phoenix as Anakin Skywalker?

No.

andrewjvb said:

He is seduced by his love for Padme; he has to rescue her from the Emperor's clutches by killing his Master, Obi-Wan. He fails.

The Emperor takes his remains and hooks them up to all kinds of electrodes in the form of his suit, enslaving Anakin Skywalker and unleashing him upon the Jedi in the form of Darth Vader. The first thing the suited Anakin says is not "Nooo!" It is, "What is thy bidding, my Master?"

I don't know enough about Joaquim Phoenix's work but his sneer in those two photos isn't doing it for me. Whatever one's personal opinion of Hayden's Anakin, I see no advantage whatsoever to a sneering PT Anakin.

I mean, good natured is how a Jedi is supposed to be. Especially one as revered as Anakin. He is described as being a top notch Jedi. Not some little self-absorbed jerk. That's not a Jedi. No offense to Haydyn as a person, but that's the character they made.

I mean, good natured is how a Jedi is supposed to be. Especially one as revered as Anakin. He is described as being a top notch Jedi. Not some little self-absorbed jerk. That's not a Jedi. No offense to Haydyn as a person, but that's the character they made.

Who exactly "revered" Anakin though? At best, Yoda described him as a powerful Jedi and Obi-Wan said he was a good friend. And the Jedi were never flawless, even in the OT -- they lied to Luke and refused to consider the possibility that one could turn back from the Dark Side.

Plus, I think it's clear that Anakin was never going to be a "top notch Jedi" considering he turns to the Dark Side and betrays the Order. That he had failings in regards to his Jedi teachings was inevitable given that he eventually chooses the path of the Sith.

I'm a bit confused as to what the purpose of this thread is, though. I don't quite see what your objection to Christensen is -- he played Anakin the way the character was written so I don't really so how substituting Joaquin Phoenix (who was too old for the part anyway and rather short at 5'8") would resolve any of your issues.

And, truthfully, I disagree with your assessment of the character. Anakin certainly has a large egotistical streak, but that's not all he is either. But to each their own.

Oh, and the latest picture you posted isn't showing up, just to let you know.

As for the Prequels as they are. No, those aren't Star Wars movies. Sorry.

Then why start a discussion thread where you don't accept differing viewpoints? I know this is the internet, but threads are far more interesting when folks discuss, rather than state an opinion seeking only validation for said opinion.

I don't know if there would ever be enough demand for a remake. The PT aren't exactly classic stories that stand the test of time, after all. I can, however, see a day where a re edit of the film may be released without the humor and I suppose it is possible that they may be able to run Hayden's vocals through a sequncer to fix the cheesy delivery he gave and make it appear as if he where not so whiney or hammy. In that spirit, it isa probably possible , via computer, that they could re insert any actor that they wanted to use. if they were going to go through all that trouble, then I suppose it's possible they could use Phoenix... but as someone mentioned earlier the dude is a little too short and little too old, though again, computers could probably fix that.

As for the Prequels as they are. No, those aren't Star Wars movies. Sorry.

That's funny because I distinctly remember the Star Wars logo at the beginning of each of those films. Maybe your memory is better than mine though. If you remember what franchise they were from please let us all know.

Did you hear the John Williams' Star Wars theme at the beginning of the films too, Chiznuk? Or was I just imagining that? I own the scores somewhere, maybe I should check.

Gosh, it's been so long the memories are only slowing coming back into my head. I think... I think I have it... Haha, there it is the themes are running through my head as we speak! Gosh darn it, I guess we were right all along it was Star Wars!

But I don't think it really matters since people have a problem with the character itself and how he was written... Witch I love all in aspects and Hayden did a fantastic job bringing to life.

This. The issue as I see it was never with the actor who played Anakin. I paid a lot of attention to the casting of Anakin in early 2000 and remember several of the contenders--Leonardo DiCaprio (whether he was ever a serious contender or not, I don't know, but his name got batted around quite a bit), Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Ryan Philippe. I had never heard of Hayden until he got cast but when the announcement was made, I watched several episodes of Higher Ground, which was Hayden's only serious commercial work at the time. His character in that show was an angsty, self-centered, melodramatic teenager. Sound familiar? Life as a House came a year later but in it, Hayden also played an angsty, self-centered, melodramatic teenager, and got nominated for a Golden Globe for it.

Based on posts I've read over the years, I think people did not want Anakin to be an angsty (and yes, whiny), self-centered, melodramatic teenager, and would have had a problem with his being written that way no matter who the actor was.